


Immunity

by RiRiMania1335



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon verse, Caretaker Lance, Gen, I always torture Keith, Keith (Voltron) Whump, Oneshot, Sick Character, Sickfic, Vomiting, basic flu, little to no plot, sick keith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-07
Updated: 2017-11-07
Packaged: 2019-01-30 14:20:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12655248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RiRiMania1335/pseuds/RiRiMania1335
Summary: Keith hardly ever gets sick. But if he does, it hits him like a truck.





	Immunity

Keith prided himself on his strong immune system. He rarely ever got sick. A point he brought up every time another paladin fell under the weather. Because of this, he often volunteered to tend to the needs of his ill friends because he was least likely to get infected.

So when he woke up to his hair plastered to his forehead with sweat, he assumed it was just another bad nightmare and carried on with his morning. When he doubled over coughing, he brushed it off thinking it was just a hitch in his breath. When he felt an uncomfortable roll in his stomach, he thought he was just hungry. And when his throat started to burn at lunch, he blamed the spicy noodles Hunk had whipped up. He wasn't concerned.

It wasn't until dinner that the symptoms started to piece themselves together. The sweating, the coughing, the nausea, the sore throat - it all started to add up. He’s seen the symptoms dozens of times before. Shiro displayed the very same symptoms just two weeks ago. It must have been brewing in his system since then. And his body must have been unable to fight it. He’d never wanted to be wrong so much in his life.

Hopefully, he would be able to fall asleep and wake up in the morning feeling good as new. He started thinking up ways he could secretly ease the symptoms. A hot shower to clear his sinuses, a little stretching to loosen his tired joints and aching muscles, a good night's sleep. And maybe he could sneak a few medicinal tablets from Coran.

Lost in thought, he failed to prepare for the sneeze that snuck up on him. He managed to duck his head into the crook of his elbow just in time. He sneezed once, twice, and a third time before he picked his head up with a loud sniffle. _Shit_ , he thought. Three sneezes were a bad thing. Three consecutive sneezes were his giveaway. He remembered his father pointing it out when he was a child. Thankfully, no one on team Voltron knew that. But that didn’t mean they wouldn’t be suspicious.

All eyes at the table turned his way, adorned with curious and somewhat offended glares.

“Keith? Are you getting sick?” Lance asked accusingly with just a hint of mockery.

Before Keith could absolutely deny it, Pidge chirped into the conversation with a sharp laugh, “No way. Keith doesn’t get sick. He's an impenetrable fortress of health. Remember?” Keith couldn't tell if she was mocking him or being serious, but either way he felt slightly offended.

“Yeah, he's always talking about how he hasn't been sick since he was a kid.” Hunk added unceremoniously. “He’s like a robot or something.”

No one seemed to be interested in his answer to the question. The conversation turned away from Keith completely. But they still kept talking about him and his immune system. Did he really boast about his health streak that much? It's not like he ever said he was immune to every disease ever. His immune system was bound to fail him at some point.

Given the circumstances, he realized that even if he did want to admit to his friends that he wasn't feeling well, it wasn't an option. They probably wouldn't believe him. In fact, they'd probably just make fun of him for showing some sign of human weakness. Assholes. He didn't mock them when they got sick. Well, maybe a little - but he still helped out.

He managed to sneak away from the table, dinner untouched, while the rest of them were all still babbling on about him. He dipped out of the room completely undetected and paced back to his room.

His teammates were right, though. He hasn't been sick in such a long time. He wasn’t sure what hurt more - the symptoms of illness or the fact that he had no one to take care of him. He’s taken care of his friends before, and he was (modestly) pretty good at it. But he’s never had to take care of himself. The last time he remembered feeling this sick was when his mom was still around. She sang him lullabies, fed him chicken soup, and stayed with him during the unbearable bouts of nausea. It was so long ago now, it almost felt more like a dream than a memory. Just thinking about it brought up a lump in Keith's throat that he forcibly swallowed back down. As if he didn’t feel shitty enough already.

He made his way into his room and collapsed onto the bed. He just needed a minute. Just a minute to pull himself together. Then he would get back up, take a cold shower, steal some meds, change out of his jeans. He just needed a minute. Just. One. Minute.

* * *

 

He didn’t remember falling asleep. But he remembered waking up to an unfamiliar gurgling in his stomach. Before he could even process the feeling, he darted out of the bed and to the nearest trash bin. He hadn’t thrown up in so long; he’d forgotten just how awful it was. He’d forgotten about the acidic burn and the stomach cramping. It felt like someone was repeatedly punching him, even after he’d completely emptied the contents of his stomach. It brought tears to his eyes.

Eventually the churning diminished to just a dull ache. He picked his head up from the trash bin and grimaced at the sight. He spits a few more times into the bin, trying to get the putrid taste out of his mouth. Now that he had a moment to breath, he could feel the effects of his illness hitting him full force. His whole body ached. His already sore throat felt raw from vomiting. He felt cold despite his jacket and the blanket he’d brought to the floor with him. He wanted to go back to sleep.

But, he stopped for a moment to think, maybe he was in over his head. The holographic clock by his bed told him it was nearly morning. He’d slept all night and felt worse off than he had when he went to sleep. There was no way he’d be able to make it through the day like this. He was going to have to tell someone. Surely, like this, they’d believe him.

He wanted to go to Shiro. He was most familiar with Shiro, he’d known Shiro the longest. But Shiro was also the farthest room away. Lance was the closest. And as much as he didn’t want it to be Lance, he didn’t trust his body to take him much further than that. To be honest, he’d consider it a job well done to even make it out the door.

Mustering all the energy he could, he brought himself to his feet. He used every available wall to support him as he trekked down to Lance’s room. It was really only about fifty feet down the hall. A walk that should have taken him under a minute turned into a five minute adventure, stopping frequently to ease the dizziness he felt every time he moved his head.

Finally, he made it to Lance’s door. He let out a small sigh of relief after seeing light slipping out from under the door. He knocked abruptly, willing Lance to open the door. After four knocks, the door slid open. Keith wasn’t prepared; he’d been using that door to support his weight. And when it disappeared, he lost his balance and fell into Lance.

Lance was quick to react, reaching out to catch Keith. “Whoa, Keith. What’s going on? You look like shit.”

Keith looked up at Lance, ignoring the insult because to be fair, he probably did. “I think I’m dying.” He croaked out.

That was all the explanation Lance needed. He wasted no time bringing Keith into his room and sitting him down on the bed. He took a second to actually look Keith over. He definitely looked sick. Keith was shivering hard, dark circles under his eyes, slick and pale skin, sweaty hair.

“Good news is that you’re not dying.” He huffed while Keith waited expectantly for the bad news, “Bad news is I think you caught something.”

“I don’t get sick.” Keith reacted harshly, even though he’d come to the same conclusion hours ago. He didn’t know why he left the need to lie, but something just didn’t feel right about agreeing with Lance.

Lance reached out, placing a hand on Keith’s forehead. “You’ve definitely got a fever,” He sighed, running his hand down the side of Keith’s face as if tracking the heat.

“That’s impossible.” Keith rebutted. “’m freezing.” As if to emphasize his point, he started shivering harder.

Lance had to suppress a chuckle. He’d always figured Keith would make the worst patient ever. “No dude, I’m positive you’re running a fever. At least 102, if I had to put money on it. It’s common to feel really cold when you have a fever. There’s a lot of medical garble that goes into it, but just trust me on this.”

“That’s bullshit.” Keith grumbled.

Lance actually laughed that time. He quietly agreed. “What are your other symptoms?”

Keith forced himself to comply, “’m tired ‘n achy, my throat hurts, ‘nd I threw up.”

Lance sighed, resting a hand on Keith’s shoulder. “Yeah, buddy. It sounds just like your standard flu.”

Keith coughed into his hand then winced at the way it tore through his throat, “It can’t just be a flu, Lance. I feel like I’m dying. It wasn’t this bad for you guys.” He protested.

Lance put his hands on his hips, “I hate to break it to you, Mullet; but it’s all the same symptoms. The only difference is that we know how to be sick.” Keith looked back at Lance perplexed, so Lance elaborated, “We are used to getting sick, so it doesn’t hit us as hard because our bodies know how to handle it. I think since you never get sick, your body just doesn’t know what to do. So you feel worse.”

In Keith’s dazed mind, it seemed like a valid answer so he simply nodded. Lance would know more about being sick than he did. “Okay,” He sniffled, “Well how do I feel better?”

Lance sat down next to Keith, putting a reassuring arm around him. “That one’s easy. Rest, fluids, and a whole lotta TLC.” While Keith was still trying to figure out what the hell TLC was, Lance helped him to feet and helped him back to his room. He tucked Keith back into bed, being sure to wrap the blanket tightly around him. He then dashed out of the room and returned minutes later with a cold water pouch. “Take a few sips,” Lance instructed.

Keith did. The cold water felt soothing as it slid down his throat. And when he set the pouch aside, Lance took some of the water and poured it onto a towel which he then placed on Keith’s burning forehead.

Keith could feel himself falling asleep again. Before he allowed himself to fully drift off, he grabbed Lance’s wrist to get his attention. “Hey Lance,” he croaked, “Thank you.”

If Lance responded, Keith didn’t hear it.

* * *

 

The next time he woke up, he was surrounded by familiar faces. All of his fellow paladins were squished into his room. Lance sat on his bed, Shiro was right beside him, Pidge and Hunk not too far away. “Wha-” He started to make his consciousness known.

“Hey, look who’s awake.” Lance cheered.

“How are you feeling, Keith?” Shiro asked.

Keith had to think about it. He thought he felt better. Definitely better than when he’d gone to Lance. But he still wasn’t at 100 percent. “I’m sick,” was his most honest reply.

Shiro looked at him with a small smile, “Yeah, seems like you are. But you’re getting better.”

Keith just nodded. Pidge approached him, handing him some pills and a fresh water pouch. “Look, we’re sorry for making fun of you yesterday. We didn’t know you were actually sick. And we’re sorry if that made you feel like you couldn’t tell us.” She spoke for all of them. Keith could tell by the way they were all nodding their heads.

Keith quickly took the pills, hoping they would bring him more relief. “Don’t feel bad about it. To be honest, I was going to lie anyway. I thought I could handle it on my own.” He admitted.

Lance scoffed, “Yeah, that worked out real well.” Keith wanted to push him, but he knew Lance was right.

“Well, now you don’t have to handle anything on your own. You always take care of us when we don’t feel well. So we are here to take care of you.” Shiro explained, and everyone nodded.

Keith smiled. He felt a warmth inside of him. A warmth so much more comfortable than his fever.

**Author's Note:**

> How do I get over writers block?? I write a sickfic of course. 
> 
> I should be working on like at least five other things, but I wrote this instead. But now I actually feel motivated to write my other fics. So hooray for plotless fics where Keith suffers. And with that, expect more from me in the near future. 
> 
> Not beta-d. Written in about two hours so there may be many mistakes. 
> 
> As always kudos comments and feedback are appreciated. And come yell at me on [ Tumblr ](http://animezing-life.tumblr.com/) about all things VLD related.


End file.
